What You Wish For: A Novel

“But that’s the thing about joy. You don’t have to wait for it to happen. You can make it happen.” - Katherine Center. Wow. Just wow. What a compelling, feel-good read. Katherine Center takes some difficult topics and sprinkles them with love, hope, optimism and strength. This is the first book that I have read by Katherine Center and it definitely won’t be the last. This story deals with the complexities of relationships and how things out of your control can cause lasting damage and change in someone - sometimes for the better and sometimes not. The novel is centred around the female protagonist, Sam. Having felt stuck in a job, where her unrequited crush consumed her thoughts and took over her life, she decided to take up a new job as a librarian at an elementary school some miles away, so that she could stop obsessing over him. This change does the world of good for her. Sam loves her school; she loves her job; she loves her colleagues - they’re like family to her. They have taught her how to live and to love and they have given her the strength to move on from a difficult past. This all changes when their beloved principal dies, unexpectedly, bringing about grief and much disruption to their lives and to their school community. Keeping things the same for the children is massively important to the teachers and staff at the school and they all rally around to make things are as normal as possible. This calmness doesn’t last long, when the new principal is introduced as Duncan Carpenter, Sam’s unrequited crush - the one she moved to get away from. Duncan is much changed - and not in a good way. Sam once obsessed over him, but now she is obsessed with wanting him to stop interfering with the way things are done - she wants to hold on to the previous principal’s memory - as does everyone else. Sam is adamant that he needs to change or he needs to ship out because she isn’t prepared for her school to become like a prison. The chemistry between all of the characters are exuberant and Katherine Center has a real talent in make them believable and relatable: you instinctively feel their pain. Their stories had me reaching for the tissues on many occasion and I was gutted when the book came to a close, although happy with the ending. Make joy happen and read this book; you won’t regret it! Thank you to Katherine Center for a fabulous read and thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for affording me the opportunity to read an ARC of this memorable book.

Really enjoyed it. My only regret is downloading it on Kindle at huge expense, when for the same price I could have had it on my book shelf! Highly recommend. Katherine Center is a great writer.

Sam is a librarian at a warm, beautiful school. When a new principal is brought in, he brings in a lot of changes which go against everything The Kempner School stands for. While Sam and her colleagues come up with a plan to stop these terrible ideas coming to fruition, she realises there's more to this story than she thinks. If you are an educator, you will love this book. There's no doubt in my mind. Center has portrayed educators, children and schools so well that I'm convinced she was either an educator, knows educators or she has done her research so incredibly well. She portrays the school and it's founders as the heart and soul of this small community and the love they feel for each other comes across so well. The main theme covered is the notion of joy not being something that we should wait around for, hoping it'll come to us but it is something we have the choice to choose. And we should choose it. Every damn day. Thank you @netgalley for this arc. IG: @minaal.reads

I listened to the audiobook version of What You Wish For and the narrator Therese Plummer did a great job. An enjoyable listen, although very predictable chick lit / romance, a bit too predictable for my taste. The part I enjoyed the most was actually the author's note at the end read by the author herself, validating loving what you love. Simple and sweet, if you're into that you'll probably really like What You Wish For. *I received a free copy through Netgalley, but the review is my own opinion*

📚 3🌟🌟🌟 Review📚 This was my first book by Katherine Center and it was a pleasant, positive happy read. The characters were likeable (mostly - 1 deliberately dislikable) and the story, although at times quite predictable, was nonetheless enjoyable and entertaining. It does cover a couple of challenging topics although not at enough depth to be upsetting - more as a ‘these things have changed who I am’. I enjoyed the read.

This is my first read of a book by Katherine Center, it will definitely not be my last. I loved her writing style and her character and plot development. The story grabbed my attention and I loved Sam and ultimately Duncan. The reader should be aware that the book does handle some triggering topics including school violence but I found it was handled in a respectful and thought provoking manner. I found this compelling read both emotional and memorable; two things I love in a good book.

I love Katherine’s books so much. I only read her first book this year, but her stories have a way to connect with us that doesn’t go away. Also, I learn so much about myself with her characters. It was so nice seeing Helen and Jake (from Happiness for Beginners) in this book and I love Duncan. Sam is awesome and the whole cast of characters in this is incredible - I read this in one sitting and it was awesome.

After Happiness for Beginners, I just wanted more of Katherine's writing! I didn't realise is was a sequel to HFB until halfway through. Glad I read them in the right order!

Katherine Center is an auto-buy author for me, and this book absolutely delivered. The characters are wonderfully complex, each carrying the weight of their own struggles while learning how to find happiness in the small, everyday moments again. What made this story especially meaningful for me was how deeply it resonated on a personal level. Some of the experiences and emotions explored felt incredibly familiar, making the journey all the more powerful and heartfelt. With its blend of hope, vulnerability, and emotional depth, this is a story that stayed with me long after I finished listening to the audiobook and I immediately bought a physical copy to annotate.

What a fun book. Katherine Center is a new author for me this year. I enjoy her work